"I'd just like to say that I was right all along," Zack said as they sped through Lexington.
"Care to illuminate the rest of us as to what you were right about?" Cody asked after shrugging his shoulders to show Anthony that he had no idea what his brother was talking about either.
"I said that UK would never win a title with coach Cal and his one-and-dones," Zack announced proudly, putting his arms behind his head and looking smug.
Cody shook his head and tried not to grin as he drove. Yes, there was the old Zack with his black humor again. Cody didn't remember Zack saying any such thing, and wasn't sure what sport he was even talking about, but that didn't matter since he normally tuned his brother out whenever he went on one of his sports rants. He probably did say it, Cody admitted to himself.
"You aren't a Kentucky fan, are you, kid?" Zack asked, turning around and looking into the back seat.
"Uh, no," Anthony answered awkwardly.
"That's good. Because you'd probably have to ride in the trunk and-"
"Anyway," Cody interrupted, sparing the poor kid from more of Zack's cross examination.
"What? I wasn't really going to make him ride in the trunk," Zack said innocently.
The three continued heading west, weaving their way through abandoned cars as they passed horse farms, rolling green hills, and never to be finished road construction. Cody checked the gas gauge and tried to work out if they'd have enough to make it to Louisville or not. The needle was nearly on the bottom of the red, just above the E.
"It's going to be close," he said. "We might end up hoofing it for a while if we can't find something else in the next ten minutes."
"We will," Zack told him.
They didn't. The car wheezed to a halt just after a sign announcing they were five miles away from the city limits. Cody let it coast as far as he could before pulling to the side of the road and throwing it into park. The three boys got out and stretched before they unloaded their gear. The twins took the majority of the weight but Anthony took his fair share, sliding Cody's duffel bag over his shoulder after finding he couldn't quite carry the bag of guns and ammunition.
"Maybe in a year or two," Cody told him when they traded. "Speaking of, have you ever shot a gun, Anthony?"
"Not a bunch but I used to go hunting with my uncle and my cousins."
"Were you any good?"
"I shot a few deer last year."
"Good," Zack chimed in. "Maybe we can have something besides Spam for a change."
"We have to find a deer to shoot first, Zack," Cody reminded him as they started walking. "I think I've seen a grand total of two since we got out of Boston. Then again there could have been more since I haven't really been looking for them."
Zack walked up behind his brother and slid the rifle out of the bag and held it out to Anthony. "Be careful with this," he told the boy as he handed it over. "It's a lot stronger than anything you've probably shot before." Anthony took it and looked it over reverently.
"This is awesome. Where'd you get it?" he asked.
"Let's just say that we took it off the hands of a very bad man," Zack told him. "I'll tell you the whole story later if you want."
"Maybe," Anthony said as they started walking.
They walked on the road's shoulder for nearly a mile before a sign advertising the usual gas, hotels, and fast food appeared before them. Cody looked at Zack and received a nod, finalizing their plans for the night. The city was still a few miles away but it would still be there in the morning. As much as Cody wanted to press on and reach his goal, the prudence of having a safe place to stay for the night won out.
"Can we stay in one of the penthouse suites?" Anthony asked as they headed up the ramp. "I've always wanted to do that."
"I don't see why not," Cody replied. As they neared the group of hotels, he began to doubt that any of them would have a penthouse. They looked nice but none of the three buildings he saw could hold a melted stub of a candle to the Tipton. "Doesn't look like we'll be having a room with a solid gold toilet tonight," he said as they walked to the biggest of the three hotels.
"They make those?" Anthony asked incredulously.
"They do. I've personally bombed one," Zack told him, thinking of London's suite back in Boston. I wonder if she made it? Probably not.
"Isn't that kind of pointless?"
"I think so, Anthony, but when you're as rich as some people are, money ceases to be an object," Cody said, also thinking of London.
"I guess it doesn't really matter now since none of them work anyway," the younger boy said. "You might as well— look!" He pointed to the lawn beside the hotel's driveway.
"Holy crap, it's a deer," Cody said softly as he put a hand out to stop his brother.
"No, it's dinner. Anthony, can you make the shot?" Zack looked down at the boy and saw a slight nod of his head.
"Yeah, I can do it," the boy said as he took a few steps forward and bent down on one knee. He brought the rifle to his shoulder and settled it into place.
"I can't believe this, Cody. We've seen a handful of deer in the last three weeks or however long it's been and we give the kid a gun twenty minutes ago and there's one a hundred feet ahead of us munching grass," Zack said in his brother's ear. "Maybe he's our good luck charm or something."
"I hope so. We've had enough bad luck to last a hundred lifetimes."
Cody had been watching the boy take careful aim and was beginning to wonder if Anthony was ever going to take the shot when the rifle rang out. Three sets of eyes watched as the deer jumped. A swear was forming in Zack's throat as the deer turned around and he had nearly uttered it when it took two steps but fell over before he could.
"I got it!" Anthony exclaimed with a fist pump.
"I'll be damned," Zack said, "he did."
Anthony put the rifle on the ground and raced forward, skidding to a halt on his knees beside the deer. Zack and Cody walked up at a more respectable pace, Cody bending down to pick up the rifle along the way. "I got it!" Anthony said again, the smile on his face bright enough to light a room.
"You sure did. Now what do we do with it?"
"Excuse my brother, Anthony. He's a dyed-in-the-wool nerd who thinks meat is created at a supermarkets at midnight by magicians in dark hooded cloaks."
"No, not quite, Zack. I know where it comes from but the part where it gets from this," Cody gestured to the deer, "to wrapped in plastic in the meat department is kind of hazy."
"We have to field dress it first. That means take all of its insides and put them on the outside," he said, looking at Cody. "After that we can skip a few steps and just cut the good parts off and cook them over a fire."
"What are the good parts?"
"Um, the parts with the most meat, I guess. My uncle always took care of that part."
"I don't care what parts we cut off and cook as long as we do it sometime soon," Zack broke in. "I'll eat the thing's ears if I have to. I just want some real meat for a change." He walked off a short distance and started building a fire pit, scuffing a shallow hole out of the ground with the heel of his boot.
"Hey Cody, do you have a knife? I had a pocketknife but lost it somewhere."
"I don't, but I'm pretty sure Zack has one in his bag. It's one of those army knives so it's super sharp."
"I'll be careful," Anthony told him as he reached Zack's bag and started digging through it. "Oh wow! Look at this!" Cody and Zack turned to see Anthony holding Zack's secret stash of Penthouses and other assorted dirty magazines in front of him like the Holy Grail. Cody looked as his brother and even in the dying light could tell that he was already turning at least thirteen shades of red.
"I...I don't know how those got in there," Zack stuttered. Anthony flipped through the pages of one of them and wowed again.
"Looks like he caught you one-handed, Zack," Cody laughed.
"Huh? Hey!" Zack said as he quickly walked back over to the boy and his bag.
"She's pretty. And very naked," Anthony told him, showing Zack the centerfold.
"Yeah, she definitely is," Zack said as he took a long, hard look at Ms. November. "Now why don't you let me have those back and I'll get you the knife?" Anthony reluctantly gave the stack back and Zack rooted around in the bag and gave him the blade.
Cody had intended to watch and maybe even help Anthony cut the deer up but backed off after his stomach gave a gurgle of warning when the first incision was made in the deer's belly and blood welled up. He coughed hard and told Anthony that he was going to help Zack with the fire pit. He gathered some of the large landscaping stones and began piling them around the circular hole Zack had gouged out.
"I don't know how much of a beacon a campfire would be to a zombie," he told Zack as he finished his first layer of rocks. "If we keep it hidden behind the stones it'll be harder for them to see."
"Makes sense. What about the smell of cooking meat, though? Will that draw them?"
"I hope not. We'll have to be careful, I guess."
Between the two of them, they had a ring of rocks almost a foot tall around the fire pit in less than five minutes and set about scrounging enough wood to make a fire. They ranged a short distance away from Anthony but one of them always kept an eye on the boy. A shopping cart loaded full of sticks and branches and whatever else they could scavenge pushed in front of them, they returned and started the fire. Zack stomped on the cart until the back piece broke free and set it atop the stones, creating a make-shift grill.
It was burning nicely by the time Anthony had finished butchering the deer. The pieces were ragged and Cody couldn't begin to guess what part of the animal they'd been cut from, but he found that he didn't care once the aroma reached his nose. The boys all stood around the fire and licked their lips as the meat spit and bubbled.
"This might be the best thing I've ever eaten in my life," Zack said with a mouthful of deer. He was holding the meat in both hands and doing his best to make it disappear in less than a minute.
"I'll agree with that. I forgot how delicious real food can be. Thanks, Anthony."
"You're welcome," Anthony told him. "It's the least I can do. Maybe we can find another one tomorrow."
"In case we can't, we should eat as much of this as we can. It's a shame we can't keep it fresh," Cody said, wiping dribbled juice from his chin with the hem of his shirt.
"Yeah, that won't be a problem." Zack reached for another piece of deer meat and began inhaling it. "There won't be any leftovers if I have anything to do with it."
There nearly weren't. The three boys were stuffed and were sitting lazily around the remnants of the fire. Cody wanted to mention the lack of zombies but was afraid he'd jinx them if he did. He'd noticed that as the days passed, the fewer and fewer they'd seen in the countryside and the more they'd spot in the cities that they had to pass through. He was turning that idea over in his mind when he felt Anthony lean into him.
"We should probably get a room soon," Zack said, breaking the amicable silence. "He's just about asleep."
"No I'm not," Anthony argued with a yawn.
A few minutes later, they'd stomped the fire out and buried the deer's entrails in the ashes and were on their way up the hotel's stairwell, bellies full and eyelids heavy. They found that there was no awesome suite on the top floor but they didn't care. The rooms all had soft beds and that was all that mattered.
"My mom and I were hiding in our house when the zombies finally made it to town," Anthony told them as he laid on the bed. Cody and Zack had shared their story and he sat, arms behind his head and covers pulled up to his chin, and began his own. "She would sit there and watch the news every minute it was on or listen to the radio when it wasn't, waiting to hear that help was coming. She tried to pretend that she wasn't scared but I could tell she was. She just hid it well.
"When they came, the zombies, I mean, not the help. They always said help was on the way but it never was. Anyway, when they came, we were sitting in the living room with the radio on the table. Mom had just got up to get some water when I heard glass breaking. At first I thought she'd dropped a cup but she yelled for me to run. I hopped up and ran to the kitchen and saw her fighting with one of them that had broken through the back door. She had one hand on its throat and the other on its arm.
"She looked over at me and screamed for me to run again. That she'd hold it off long enough for me to escape. And that she loved me." Anthony stopped nearly a full minute while he tried his best to fight back the sobs that were desperately trying to break out. "I don't remember much about the next few minutes. I ran, I know that much. I don't know long I'd run when I finally stopped but my sides were splitting and I felt like I was going to pass out and my legs felt like gravy.
"I was sitting on a bench at a bus stop and waiting for my body to feel better when I noticed that I'd grabbed the picture of me and my mom off the 'fridge on the way out. I don't remember taking it at all. It was rolled up in my hand like some old scroll.
"After that I broke into a house and laid in a bed and cried for a while, a few days, probably. And then I left. I couldn't stay in that town anymore. I was afraid I'd run into my mother. I must have walked for three or four days, maybe a whole week, staying on the highway and dodging zombies. I stopped in the town you found me in because my legs were killing me and I stayed there. I'd sneak out and gather food and water and I built my barricades and zombie traps and watched."
"And then we came," Cody said, breaking Anthony's monologue.
"Yep. I'd been in that house for at least a week before you two showed up."
"Were we the first people you'd seen?"
"Not quite," he told Cody. "There were a few others but they didn't look friendly so I stayed hidden."
"You didn't happen to see a woman in her later thirties, did you? A little taller than us with reddish-brown hair?"
"No, sorry. That's your mother, right?"
"Yeah," Zack said, a little sad even know he knew the odds were impossibly long.
Ten minutes passed with talk of happier things and Anthony had fallen into a peaceful sleep. Cody was sitting against the headboard beside him and it wasn't two minutes before Anthony had wiggled his way over just enough to be touching Cody's leg and hip. He put a hand on the boy's shoulder and pulled the covers up.
"He's becoming your little right-hand-man, you know," Zack said when Cody looked back up.
"Is it that noticeable?"
"I think even Grandpa would have been able to see it." Zack was quiet for a few seconds before adding, "I don't think he likes me."
"I wouldn't go that far. I think he's a little wary of you."
"Why? What'd I do?"
"I think a part of it might come from when we first met him."
"I thought we were cool about that? Anthony and I, I mean."
"I think you are, it's just that he's only nine. Hurt feelings last longer when you're younger."
"I'll have to make it up to him somehow."
"Just give him some time. And make sure you hide your pornos better," Cody grinned.
"I swear I didn't think he ever find those." Zack sounded incredibly guilty.
"It's okay, Zack. It's just not something he needs to see yet."
"Shit...when I was nine, I..I don't think I'm going to finish that because it will only embarrass you," he grinned, obviously thinking back to some sordid experience four years prior.
"I don't even want to know," Cody told him.
"Yes you do."
"No, really. I'm good. Some things are best left unsaid."
Zack had stripped to his underwear and pulled the covers back on his bed and slid beneath them and was asleep almost as quickly as Anthony. Cody tried to do the same but didn't have the success the others did. He laid there and spent a while staring at the ceiling before rolling out of bed and padding to the balcony and sitting in a chair. The stars were incredibly clear these last few nights. No light pollution and three weeks of factories not dumping tons of smoke into the air would do that, he noted as he sat back and hunted for constellations he'd only seen in books.
He awoke in the wee hours of the morning with a terribly stiff neck and a raging thirst. Cody went back inside and swallowed two aspirin with half of a bottle of water. A glance at his watch told him it was just after five a.m. but he didn't think more sleep was in his future.
"We need to find him some clothes today," he said when he saw Anthony curled up in the center of the bed. Cody could just barely see the boy's clothes laying in a pile beside his shoes and wouldn't have been surprised if they got up and walked away under their own power. "He needs a bath, too. Who knows when he took his last one."
Now he had a mission and he wouldn't be going back to sleep even if he wanted to. There was a gallon bottle of water in their bathroom and Cody reckoned that there would be one in most of the other rooms on this floor as well. "It won't be warm but it'll be wet," he whispered as he pulled on the last of his clean clothes and grabbed his pistol.
Cody commandeered a luggage dolly and had it half full of water jugs by the time he finished his circuit of their floor. By his figures, that would be just about right for a few inches of water with enough left over to rinse with. He pushed the dolly easily down the hall before struggling to get it over the threshold and into their room. Cody nearly tipped the whole thing over twice before he was able to maneuver it inside and close the door.
The the twins and the still-damp Anthony emerged from the room a few hours later. The twins were dressed normally but Anthony was wearing only a towel. Cody had declared the boy's clothes a biohazard and promised their first item of business that morning would be to get him something new to wear.
"Okay," Anthony had replied, feeling slightly naughty as he walked through the hotel and across the parking lot and street to a Walmart wrapped only in soft white cotton. The twins stood sentry while Anthony grabbed handfuls of shirts and shorts and underwear and dropped them in a cart. When he was finished, Zack and Cody took turns adding their own clothes to the pile. After a search for any food turned up the usual leftovers, they were in the parking lot and began pairing their new found clothes down to manageable levels and loading their packs.
"We ready?" Zack asked as he shouldered his bag. "If we can find ourselves a car, we can be across the river in less than half an hour.
"Anthony? Your bag isn't too heavy, is it?" Cody asked and got a no in reply. "Yeah, I think we're set."
"Good. Let's find a good car and get a move on." Zack set the pace as they started across the parking lot. The night had been cool but the day was already setting up to be a scorcher. The boys were already sweating before they'd put a mile behind them. "Yeah, air conditioning would be really nice right about now," Zack mumbled as they came upon another pack of abandoned cars. He wiped his brow and flicked a spray of sweat to the pavement.
They found a quad-cab truck with air conditioning on their fourth try. It was a stick so Cody, who had turned out to be the better operator of a clutch by far, was the pilot. Zack offered the front passenger seat to Anthony who gladly accepted and settled into the back. They cruised through the city and caught the occasional glimpse of the Ohio River. It grew before them and each boy was having the same thought but it was Zack who voiced it.
"Where's the bridge?" he craned his neck to look through the windshield and grew angrier as each tenth of a mile clicked away on the odometer. "This is ridiculous. I'm about tired of people blowing up bridges and thinking that it'll save them. Goddammit." Zack threw himself against the back seat and crossed his arms over his chest. Cody looked in the mirror and thought he saw tears of frustration or even rage forming in the corners of his brother's eyes.
"I know there's another bridge on I-65. We'll have to backtrack further into Indiana but we can still make it," Cody said. "We can figure out how to get there and try that one."
"Why? If they blew one, they'd be stupid not to blow them both," Zack said, still irritated but calming down from a few seconds earlier.
"So do we drive around and look for another bridge somewhere? Or do we go down to the river and find a boat?"
"I vote boat," Anthony piped in and Zack agreed. Cody nodded and turned the car around and tried to find the quickest way down to the riverfront. They'd made their way off the interstate and down into the warren of residential streets below. Cody was weaving through the partially choked lanes at a snail's pace when the sound of gunfire reached their ears.
"It's coming from over there," Anthony said, pointing. Three seconds later a mob of zombies came into view at the end of the street, as did what looked like an older teen and two kids retreating and valiantly trying to hold them off with small arms.
"Stop the truck long enough for me to get in the bed and then drive by the group on the left side," Zack said as he pulled the assault rifle and a spare magazine from their bag. He hadn't used it yet but wasn't worried since it would be next to impossible to miss at almost point-blank range. Zack hopped out and closed the door and climbed into the bed of the truck. He popped the tailgate and thumped his twice hand on the roof, telling Cody to go.
The truck lurched forward and Zack nearly fell out of the back before he got his footing. He braced himself and locked the gun into his shoulder, gingerly pulling on the trigger as they neared the horde of undead. The sound of the gun's retort was louder and more sinister than he'd expected but he loved the power behind it. Zombies dropped like flies as their bodies disintegrated.
"Get in!" Zack shouted as they roared closer to the group. The three made a fighting retreat to the truck and piled in while Zack laid down covering fire, smoothly dropping one clip and replacing it with another. Once the last of them had made it into the bed, Zack hammered on the roof again and Cody gunned the engine and took off, sideswiping a zombie that dared come too close and sending it flying into the gutter.
Cody raced down the road for nearly a dozen blocks before the adrenaline began to wear off. He pulled into a drug store parking lot and stopped the truck. Anthony piled out and Cody was right behind him as they went to the back of the truck to check on their new passengers.
"I already thanked your brother but I'll thank you, too," the older of the three said. "You saved our asses back there. Thanks." He held out his hand and Cody shook it. "I'm Chris. Those two are Tom and Nate."
Cody introduced himself and his party before getting down to the important question. "What are you guys doing down here?"
"We were scrounging for whatever supplies we could find. This area has been picked pretty clean but we were giving it one last try since it's a lot closer than the other side of the river. We were in a warehouse when we got flushed out by a bunch of walkers. We ran out the nearest door and right into another, bigger, group of them.
"We had a truck but they were all over it like flies on shit and we couldn't get back to it so we were fighting our way down the street when you found us."
"Do you live somewhere around here?" Cody asked, his interest piqued.
"Yeah, we have a fortress down near the river," one of the new boys, Nate, if Cody was right, told them.
"It's hardly a fortress but it's kept us safe so far. It used to be an old house but we've fortified it. If you wouldn't mind giving us a lift, I bet you can have your first hot shower in weeks. Maybe a hot meal, too."
"You have hot water?" Cody gasped, his stomach taking a back seat to a luxury he never thought he'd have again.
"Hot water and ice, too," Tom said.
"Ice? How?" It was Zack's turn to be surprised.
"Generators and solar power," Chris told them as he safed his pistol and slipped it into a shoulder holster.
Zack could see the gears turning in his brother's head after Chris spoke. "I think we can make that happen. Why don't you hop in the cab and give my brother directions and I'll ride back here with these two?" Zack wanted to trust him but couldn't quite do it. By his plan, he'd be with two of theirs while Chris was with two of his and he figured the older boy wouldn't try anything. Paranoia, Zack. Paranoia.
"Sounds like a plan," Chris said. A minute later they were on the road again and heading toward the boys' strong point.
Cody had seen how Anthony had rigged his zombie defenses but as they approached, he saw that these people had taken it to another level. Gaping pits and ironworks and what had to be miles of barbed wire all tied together reminded him of nothing so much as Nazi beach defenses from the old Normandy invasion movies he'd watched in the past filled the ground leading up to the house. The road itself was a sidewinder snake, switching back every few dozen yards before reaching a moat. A moat. And fences. Lots of fences. He wasn't positive, but he was pretty sure he saw two snipers on the roof of the house.
"Let us out at the bottom of the hill," Chris told Cody as they approached. "I doubt they'd open fire but it's better not to take a chance."
"Yeah, definitely," Cody said as he slowed. Even squinting into the sun, he was positive there was someone at the top of the hill staring at them through binoculars. He crawled behind Chris and the two boys as they wound their way up the hill to the house, testing his clutch skills to the limit.
"I don't care how nice they seem," Zack said through the sliding window, "we go in with guns drawn. We made that mistake once and we aren't making it again." He saw Cody's eyes in the mirror. "I don't mean pointed at them, but out and ready. Just in case." The other two nodded as they crept up the hill.
Chris waved and said something that was lost over the sound of the engine and the drawbridge lowered. Cody was waved forward and they drove into the redoubt. He was waved over to a row of cars and he obeyed, turning the truck off and exiting with his shotgun slung over his shoulder and a pistol in his hand. Zack jumped down and cradled the assault rifle like a newborn while Anthony did his best to not look awkward while holding the rifle.
Two grown men and a woman came out to meet them. One was armed while the other man and woman had pistols at their hips. "Welcome to High Point," the armed man told them. "I'm Ben. This is Eric and that's Sonya," he said, pointing to the others.
"I'm Zack and that's Cody and Anthony," Zack told him. "Forgive me if we don't walk in unarmed. The last people that took us in tried to trade us for a generator." There were enough people with spitting distance with guns, some younger than he was, he noticed, that his comment was mostly bravado. The three of them would be dropped before they'd get off more than a handful of rounds.
"I don't know if it will still your fears any, but we already have three generators," Ben said in a calm voice. "You are welcome here and we thank you for rescuing our scouts."
"Thank you," Zack said and the other two echoed the sentiment.
The man motioned for the three to follow him and led the way through the camp. Cody looked on in near awe as he saw a huge bank of solar panels set up on the roof of the house while Zack's jaw dropped at two semi trailers of diesel parked in a concrete revetment. These people were for real, he decided.
"We have hot water if any of you are in the mood for a shower," Ben told them as they stepped inside the house. Fans, either generator or solar powered, Cody wasn't sure but didn't care, lapped at their faces.
"Oh am I ever," he admitted before he could stop. He could suddenly smell himself and it wasn't pleasant.
"As long as you keep them short and don't mind taking turns, we can have all three of you fresh as a daisy in no time." Ben pointed to the end of the hall and the improvised shower that had been installed.
Twenty minutes later, Cody stepped out of a shower feeling cleaner than he had in the better part of a month. Anthony joined him shortly but Zack was still slightly on guard while he chewed the fat with Ben and the others.
"How long have you all been here?" he asked as he sipped at a cold glass of water.
"Since about two days after everything went to hell. I'd seen the house a thousand times as I'd drive to work and decided it would make a great base if anything cataclysmic ever happened."
"From what I've seen you were right. Many zombies around here?"
"More than I figured there would be," Ben admitted. "We'll snipe a dozen or so a day and pick another handful off the razor wire every morning. Damn stupid things cut themselves to pieces on it. It's like picking up rancid deli meat." Zack's stomach performed a slight barrel roll at the comparison. "So what brings you to our fair city, Zack? You've already missed the Derby so that can't be it." Ben grinned as he leaned back in his chair.
"We're working our way across the country to Kansas to hopefully meet up with our mom," he told the man across the table.
"I figured it wasn't for the nightlife," Ben told him. "We have a boat but you got here a little late." Zack looked at him through furrowed brows. "I sent some men across the river at dawn to scout the area and do a little foraging."
"We can wait," Zack told him, feeling slightly odd trying to negotiate with someone old enough to be his father.
"They're due back in a few hours but we can probably get you across the river before night falls. If they get back late, we can get you across first thing in the morning."
"We aren't afraid of crossing the river in the dark," Zack told him.
"We aren't either. It's the landing that isn't so easy at night." Zack looked at him and waited for the explanation. "We're not sure why but there always seems to be a ton of zombies down on the riverfront at night and there are plenty of places that they can seemingly pop out of nowhere and surprise you. Other things, too. We learned that the hard way about a week ago."
Zack nodded. "We can wait until morning if it's safer. And thanks again."
"It's the least we could do after you saved three of our own." Zack was sure that Ben almost said three of my own. They talked a little longer but the details were already ironed out. They'd be taken across the river with no strings attached and given a chance to rest and resupply. Zack couldn't think of a better deal.
"Before we do this, I have to say something," Ben said. "I know what you hope to find on the other side of the river but it might not be there. Your mother...any number of things could have happened." He pushed his chair back up and rose to his feet. "We have a rather secure colony here and I would like to extend an offer to all three of you. You are welcome to stay with us."
Zack glanced at his brother for a split second before looking back to the man. "We can't. We promised our mother that we'd make it to the farm and we're too close to stop now. She could be there right this second, waiting for us." Cody nodded in agreement and the issue was settled but Ben looked a little sad.
A short while later the three boys were relaxing in a spare room, Cody and Anthony laying on a bed while Zack sat in a chair against a wall. "Okay, honest opinion. Are these people as legit as they seem?" he asked his brother and Anthony.
"I think so," Cody told him after a few seconds of consideration. "They seem normal. I haven't heard anything from the others we've talked to that makes me not believe them."
Zack's gaze shifted to Anthony. "I guess so. They seem nice and actually friendly, not fake like some of the people I saw while I was hiding."
"What about you, Zack?" Cody asked, interested in what his brother had to say.
"I think I believe them. I don't feel any of the...I don't know what to call it. No mistrust, I guess." Zack stood up and stretched. "Hey Anthony, you'll be okay for a little while if I go talk to Cody, right?"
"Yeah, sure," the boy said. He looked up at Cody and got a reassuring nod.
"Good. We'll be back in a few. C'mon, Cody." Zack lead him out of the room and up a staircase to a deck overlooking the river. He made sure the door was closed and that they were alone.
"You want him to stay here, don't you?" Cody asked, figuring out Zack's plan in an instant.
"I think he should. He'd be safer here than he ever could be with us. They have a small arsenal here. Enough guns to put down every zombie on the east coast. Military grade shit, Cody. Add that to hot water, some electricity, regular meals, and a bed to sleep in. Why shouldn't he stay with them?"
"I don't have a good answer for that," Cody told him after a minute of contemplation. "Selfishness, I guess. I've grown attached to him in the last two days and I don't want to abandon him with a bunch of strangers even if they could protect him better than I could." Cody leaned against the railing and blew out a slow breath. "No, that's not selfish at all, is it?"
"I honestly can't say I want him to stay either."
"What?" Cody was shocked.
Zack pushed a rogue hair from his forehead. "It's settled then. Unless he wants to stay, of course," he said, cutting the conversation short.
"I was expecting you to fight me on this like before."
"Nah, I can't in good conscience. I like the kid even though he doesn't like me that much. Besides, I know better than to get between a momma bear and her cub."
"I'll ask him later. I'm pretty sure I know the answer, though." Cody headed back inside into the cooler air.
"Yeah, that's as sure a bet as there is." He followed his brother back in the house.
Cody spent the early part of the afternoon looking over all the post-apocalyptic improvements and committed each of them to memory. He took extra time with the solar panel and battery system since the smallest error in wiring could blow a battery in seconds. Anthony was by his side, trying to understand the ins and outs of everything.
"Hey Anthony, can I ask you a question?" the boy nodded. "Zack and I were talking earlier and we decided that this is a relatively safe place."
"I don't want to stay," he said, surprising Cody and making him wonder if he was that transparent.
"You don't?"
"No. Unless you want me to."
"Anthony," he put a hand on the boy's shoulder and pulled him into a brotherly hug, "I think it would be safer for you in the long run if you did stay but," he put up a hand to forestall the argument he could see forming, "but, I'd rather you stayed with us."
"Does Zack want me to stay?"
"Surprisingly no." Anthony seemed intrigued by that.
"I thought he didn't like me."
"Oddly enough, he said the same thing about you." Cody pulled away a few inches and rubbed the boy's head. "Well, now that that's settled, why don't we see if we can find where they keep the food? I'm getting hungry." Anthony seconded the idea and they set off to look for the kitchen.
The boat returned shortly before five in the afternoon and nearly all of the colony members were down at the dock to watch it motor in. Ben looked on with approval as he saw the stacks of supplies that were strapped down everywhere. Zack looked on with surprise as he saw two machine guns mounted on stands, one at the bow, the other at the stern.
"That's a lot of firepower for a boat to be carrying, isn't it?" he asked the man as they stood at the head of the dock.
"I would have agreed with you until a week ago. We were working further up the Indiana side of the river when another group of survivors opened fire on us. We lost five good men and women that day."
"I'm sorry," Zack said, not having words to say anything else. Ben nodded.
"So after that, we got those fifties from our armory and fitted them out. We haven't had to use them yet but they're a nice insurance policy against anyone trying that again."
The boat was now close enough that Zack could see dozens of bullet holes stitched up and down its side. Lines were thrown to the shore and the boat was tied down and the foraged supplies began to be offloaded. The trio watched as Ben walked a short distance away and talked with the returning foragers. A finger pointed their way a few times and heads were nodded.
He returned to them and told them of the decision. "We're going to refuel the boat and let the crew grab a bite to eat and then we'll take you across the river. Ryan, the big guy in the red hat over there, said the best place would be a few miles down from where the bridge used to connect. Easiest spot to make it back to the highway for miles, he said."
"That'll be just fine," Cody told him, answering for the group.
Inside an hour they were off, cutting through the slight chop of the river. Ryan, Cody never figured out if that was his first or last name, pointed into the distance. "That's where we're heading, just past those bluffs." Cody squinted his eyes but couldn't see anything over the glare of the sun on the water. He nodded and took it on faith that the man knew where he was going.
They slowed when they were less than a mile from the shore and multiple pairs of binoculars scanned the shore. "No walkers, no welcoming committee either," Ryan declared, resting a hand on the fifty. He sounded a little put out about both and Cody got the feeling that he was itching for a little revenge.
They motored in closer, steering toward the remains of a dock, many eyes still trained on the shore. A call to clear out the bushes was given and the two fifties opened up and raked the shoreline for a hundred yards in either direction. Anthony covered his ears with his hands at the noise.
"I think we're good," Ryan said when the guns stopped spitting tongues of flame. The boat pulled up to the dock and the three boys climbed out.
"Thanks for the ride," Cody told the man as he pushed off.
"No, thank you. I don't know if Ben told you but one of the boys you saved was mine." He reached out a big hand and engulfed Cody's. "Take care of yourselves," he said after the round of handshakes were finished.
"We will."
"I know. And if you don't find what you're looking for, remember that we're here," Ryan told them as the engines spooled up. He flipped them a salute and turned to issue an order.
Cody and Anthony watched the boat until it was lost in the haze while Zack scanned the area behind them. He didn't expect to see anything moving, not after the two guns had walked their way up and down the shore, but he couldn't help it.
"Come on, you two, we should get going," Zack said, slightly impatient, "we have another hour or two before it gets dark and I don't want to spend it down here." They trudged up a small hill and away from the water, finding a road within ten minutes and a small town half an hour later.
I'd like to thank everyone for their vacation well-wishes. It was incredibly awesome and I don't think I've ever gone through as much beer in ten days as I did down there. Naturally, the minute I got home I paid for all the good times. My AC went out, my truck broke down, and a handful of other Welcome Home events put off me writing this for almost a week. When I finally got around to starting it, the chapter just wouldn't end. However, I doubt there'll be many complaints about that after my last short chapter.
I'd like to add that while Zack might not make a University of Kentucky fan ride in the trunk, I certainly would.
Thanks.